Menu Plan - March 1

This week got slightly turned upside down! The busy schedules didn't allow me to get to the grocery store when I normally do, and so we ended up changing some of our dinner options this week.  We ended up eating... 

Cinnamon Raisin French Toast 

 

Crockpot Chicken Cordon Bleu 

(with broccoli and asparagus)

Butterscotch Brownies 

(for our game night!)

20-minute Amazing Potato Soup

(with whole wheat crackers)

Mushroom and Spinach Calzones 

(in place of pizza)

Sweet Potato Pancakes 

Wild Rice Soup

(a hometown recipe)

Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup

(soup recipe coming on Wednesday)

French Bread Pizza 

(and broccoli)

Chocolate Chip Cookie Pie

This week is going to be a busy one.  Thank goodness the Olympics are over -- we'll have much more time!  I have a job interview that I am preparing for, and we're still waiting on news for Frog Prince.  The good news is they have not contacted any of the candidates yet... things are just progressing slower than they originally thought.  Please keep us in your prayers this week as we await God's timing to reveal where He's taking us next! 

Sunday
Breakfast - Cinnamon Waffles, blueberry syrup
Dinner - Crockpot Chicken Parmesan, broccoli

Monday
Breakfast - Leftover waffles and blueberries
Dinner - Roasted Vegetable Parmesan, pineapple

Tuesday
Breakfast - Oatmeal Cinnamon Muffins {freezer}
Dinner - Very Broccoli Soup (new), garlic bread

Wednesday
Breakfast - Granola or oatmeal with fruit
Dinner - Crockpot Chicken and Roasted Veggies

Thursday
Breakfast - Baked Oatmeal, fruit
Dinner - Leftovers with mixed veggies

Friday
Breakfast - Carrot Pineapple Pancakes with sauteed pineapple (new)
Dinner - Sweet Potato Risotto, peas

Saturday
Breakfast - Cherry Muffins
Dinner - Minestrone Soup, wheat oatmeal bread

Sweet Potato Pancakes

Have I mentioned we love sweet potatoes around here?  This morning, I made a new sweet potato pancake!

I put together all the dry ingredients the night before, so that my prep time in the morning would be cut down, and put the leftover pancakes in the freezer to use for weekday breakfasts.

Sweet Potato Pancakes - SnoWhite

1 1/4 C Whole wheat flour

2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. cinnamon 

1/4 tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. nutmeg

1/8 C honey (or brown sugar)
1 C buttermilk (1 C milk + 1 T vinegar)*
1 T applesauce
1 tsp. vanilla
1 egg
1 C sweet potato puree


Mix together the dry ingredients {I do this the night before}.



Then, mix the wet ingredients together (except sweet potato).

And, combine the two until moist.

Stir in the sweet potato puree.



Then, use a ladle to pour the batter onto a pre-heated griddle.



Cook until little bubbles appear and then flip.



Serve with sauted diced apples seasoned with cinnamon.

*You may need to add more milk, especially as the batter sits.... it becomes thick! Use the milk to thin it out.

This post is linked to:

• Grocery Cart Challenge
• Foodie Friday
• URS: Root Veggies

Tidying the Kitchen....

Things are picking up in tempo around here, and I wanted to share some exciting news with you:


I have an upcoming job interview!!!

I share this with you to ask for your prayers for God's strength and His will in this opportunity.  I also share this to let you know that I may be a little less frequent with posts in the next couple of weeks.  If dear Frog Prince agrees, he might stop by and share some of his cooking adventures (he's a pretty good chef!), but otherwise, I probably won't do a whole lot of new recipes in the next little while.

That is, unless, I get super stressed... because the best way to combat stress is in the kitchen.

There's nothing like being able to control something and have it turn out nicely when the rest of your life seems out of control :)

For today... we're off out into the snow to find some interview clothes!

Butterscotch Brownies

Although most of my recipes come from bloggers -- there is one cookbook that always resides on my shelf.  Good 'ol Betty Crocker.  These "brownies" are amazing -- they taste just like butterscotch, although there is no actual butterscotch in them! {I stand corrected... you informed me that butterscotch is butter and brown sugar.  Amazing}



Butterscotch Brownies - Betty Crocker

1/4 C butter
1 C packed brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
2 T milk*
1 egg
1 C white wheat flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt

Lightly grease a 8x8 inch glass baking dish.

In a large saucepan, heat butter over medium heat.



Then, remove from the burner and add in the brown sugar, vanilla, milk and egg.



Then, mix in the flour, baking powder and salt.



Spread into the baking dish.



Bake at 350 for 25 minutes, or until golden brown.



Cool for 5 minutes in the pan on a wire rack.

Then cut and serve warm.



*If you use all whole wheat flour, you may wish to increase the milk a bit for extra moisture

This post is linked to:

• Foodie Friday
• Grocery Cart Challenge
• Colleen's Recipe Swap
• Tempt My Tummy Tuesday

Lemony Asparagus

This week, I chose Melissa d'Arabian as my Food Network Chef for the FNCCC and her recipe for Roasted Asparagus with Lemon Vinaigrette.  



We enjoyed the asparagus, but like our regular roasted asparagus better.

Roasted Asparagus with Lemon Vinaigrette - Recipe from Melissa d'Arabian

3/4 lb. asparagus
1/2 T olive oil
salt and pepper, as desired

Vinaigrette
1/2 tsp. Dijon mustard
1/2 lemon, juiced
1/2 T olive oil
pepper, as desired

Wash the asparagus and chop off the woody end.



Line a cookie sheet with tinfoil.

Lay the asparagus on the baking sheet and lightly drizzle with the olive oil.

Roll the asparagus in the oil to coat.

Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Roast in the oven at 400 for 10ish minutes, until stalks are slightly softened.



While the asparagus is roasting, prepare the vinaigrette by mixing together the lemon juice, Dijon mustard, olive oil and pepper.



Serve the asparagus spears warm drizzled with the vinaigrette.



Enjoy!



{ps - did you know... white asparagus is simply asparagus grown in the dark?!}

Chocolate Raspberry Cake

Over the weekend, we celebrated the February birthdays with some of our friends!

My friend Abbie made a delicious cake... and she made it with a healthy twist!



Chocolate Raspberry Cake - Abbie

1 box chocolate cake mix (Devil's food or dark chocolate)

• eggs and water as directed 
• replace oil with applesauce

1 handful of raspberries
Whipping cream (whipped with a few drops of vanilla and a bit of powdered sugar)



Make the cake mix according to directions, but replace the oil called for with applesauce (1:1 ratio).

Pour the cake batter into two 8-inch cake pans.  Bake according to package directions.

Remove the cake from the oven, and allow to cool for 5 minutes in the pans.

Then, remove the cakes from the pan to cool on a wire rack.

On the bottom layer, spread some whipped cream.  Top with raspberries.



Then, layer the other cake on the top.

Frost with whipped cream!

{Yes, Abbie decorated this entirely with whipped cream!}



Enjoy!

Thanks, Abbie!  This was delicious.

This post is linked to:

• Slightly Indulgent Tuesday
• Tasty Tuesday

Cooking Green: Crockpot

Did you know that cooking with your crockpot is the most energy efficient method of cooking?

Yep.

I juts finished reading a wonderful book, "Cooking Green: Reducing Your Carbon Footprint in the Kitchen" by Kathy Heyhoe and it is stuffed full of excellent tips to reduce your energy expenditure while cooking.

That's where I learned that the most energy efficient way to cook is via your crockpot!  Seriously.  It's way more efficient than your oven {which is anaologus to a Hummer!} and even more so than your burner.  That gives me great excuse to use my crockpot even more!

I'll be sharing some more of Kathy's tips for cooking green over the next few weeks, but since today Smockity Frocks is having a crockpot carnival, I thought it best to tell you this tip today :)

In addition to crockpots being a green way to cook, they also are a great time saver.  At a minimum, we use our crockpot twice each week (Wednesdays and Fridays) because it enables us to have a warm, yummy, healthy dinner after arriving home late in the afternoon.

So, what do we make in our crockpot?  I'll let you take a gander at a few our our favorites....

Lucy's Amazing Chili

Crockpot Boeuf Bourguignon

Crockpot Stuffed Pepper Soup 

 

 Crockpot Spaghetti Sauce

Crockpot Chicken Spinach Soup 

 

Crockpot Broccoli Beef

Crockpot Chicken Parmesan

Crockpot Philly Cheese Steak

Crockpot Scalloped Potatoes and Ham

Crockpot Apple Cake (which just happens to be fat free)

Crockpot Berry Cobbler

Crockpot Apple Honey Tea 

We also make virtually all our soups in the crockpot -- so easy and so yummy!

What's your favorite crockpot recipe? 

This post is linked to:

• Kitchen Tip Tuesday